1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cleaning jacket for a magnetic recording head, particularly for one for use with flexible discs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, magnetic memory recording methods can be classified into those using a magnetic disc, magnetic tape, cassette tape, etc., each of which has the following problems: the magnetic disc method is, in spite of its high recording density, costly; the magnetic tape method requires a large space which makes this method inferior to the former in handling; and the cassette tape method, characterized by compactness, suffers from a low recording volume as well as poor reliability.
Therefore, the flexible disc method, which has many advantages and is free of the above disadvantages, among these methods, i.e., high recording density and a compactness sufficient for easy handling, has recently prevailed in popularity.
Generally speaking, when a magnetic head is used for a long time in contact with a magnetic recording medium, a portion of the recording layer is abraded and adheres to the recording head together with lubricant, etc., which is present in a very small quantity on the magnetic recording layer, causing a lowering of the recording output of the magnetic head:
Such abrasion and accumulation of lubricant can be reduced by improving the magnetic recording layer.
However, as magnetic recording of the conventional type is principally based on intimate contact of the recording head and the recording layer which are in relative motion, the development of a magnetic recording layer provided with perfect mechanical performance (abrasion-free, etc.) is almost impossible to achieve.
Accordingly, one must assume soiling of the recording head will occur so long as one depends on the principles of present magnetic recording using magnetic recording media, and, thus, one is forced to resolve the soiling problem with recording heads by some cleaning method.
In the case of a flexible disc, the recording head is usually located in the innermost part of the apparatus, which makes it difficult to easily carry out head cleaning using a piece of cloth impregnated with a cleaning liquid as in the case of open reel tape recorders, cassette recorders and hame or broadcasting video recorders.
Commercially available head cleaning tapes which comprise a support such as polyester film and a cleaning layer consisting of an abrasive such as fused alumina, silicon carbide, chromium oxide (Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3), corundum, etc., bonded with a suitable binder are conveniently used for the above-cited various types of magnetic heads. Though cleaning tape effectively grinds off smudges on the head mainly comprising abraded recording layer and lubricant, it also tends to abrade the head itself to an undesirable degree. Such problems are also encountered in the case of heads for magnetic video recorders.